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Critical Lens

 

            
             "In literature, evil often triumphs but never conquers." This quote is a perfect example of the clash between good and evil. Which has been a prominent theme of old literature. When you apply this quote to Things Fall Apart, you will notice that in some ways there is a lot of evils try to conquer the good. .
             This quote is saying that evil may try to takes over but in the end never overcomes or takes over the person. A good example of this is in the book Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is cast out of his tribe Umofia and he goes to his mothers" homeland Mbanta. There he is given a second chance and even though it is a strange place, he succeeds. He is given two or three pieces of land and three hundred yam seeds. To break the quote down even further, it says that even though there is negativity (evil) around Okonkwo, he pulls through his exile. .
             The literary element that stands out the most is irony, but to be more specific irony of a situation. Through out the book Okonkwo and his tribe Umofia stress the importance of family, but the he kills Ikemefuna who is supposed to be his step son. Another example of irony of a situation is how Nwoye Okonkwo's son is just like his.
             father Unoka. In the beginning of the book it says the Unoka, "In his day was lazy and improvident- (Achebe 4) Okonkwo sees this in Nwoye later in the book and he .
             says, "I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan." (Achebe 32) Why is this ironic, because Okonkwo spent his life trying not to be like his father. In this case Okonkwo can be the evil and Nwoye the good. Okonkwo is trying to take over Nwoye, he is trying to make him what he was when he was young, but Nwoye doesn't allow him to conquer. To a certain point he deals with his father but in the end he father's anger towards him not being everything he wants him to be is what drives Nwoye away in the end.
             Conflict also stands out in the book.


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